Ordo Equilibrio is a swedish band with a sound somewhere between ambient noise & folk music.  they're on Cold Meat Industry.

QRD – some of your songs seem quite different stylistically, do you have a preference toward either type for where you're headed?

OE – I hold no preferences as I create the music of Ordo Equilibrio.  I basically rely on my emotional, spiritual, & philosophical instincts, which properly direct the outcome of my creations.  this specific path of musical, ideological, & aesthetic direction was not something I particularly chose, but rather an exposition that has evolved naturally in relation to my individual nature & state of mind.  this is who I am & Ordo Equilibrio is basically a reflection of my being.

QRD – how would you describe your music to someone who had never heard it?

OE – Ordo Equilibrio is the somber & delicate, yet uncompromising serenade of life.  an aesthetic recognition of life's puzzling mysteries, veiled beauties, & sometimes unpleasant & ugly truths, accompanied by acoustic guitars, drifting strings, consistent drumming, & solemn chanting.  conclusively unveiling an ingenious exposition of "desolate beauty & explicit simplicity."

QRD – how often do you play live? how often would you like to?

OE – we have up until now performed live on six different occasions, but by the time this interview is printed, it may have become seven.  when performing live we try to present an act that stands in relation to the philosophical & aesthetic ideals of formation, but as we are still investigating the possibilities & disadvantages in regards to performing live, our live performance will most certainly evolve into something invariably more representative & effectual as we proceed.  I am satisfied with what we have managed to accomplish so far & in conclusion I believe our current extent of performing is quite satisfying, once sometimes twice a year.

QRD – how important do you think honesty is in art & music?

OE – I personally discern honesty as part of every artform as something absolutely essential.  without the inclusion of sincerity & soul, both music & art become fruitless.  not even deserving the time of recognition.

QRD – some of your songs have religious connotations, what is your stand on christianity &/or the current state of it?

OE – christianity opposes human nature & does not acknowledge the basic principals that govern our existence.  it is constructed in circumference to a desperate wish for human change.  the wish that man was not as & whom it is & that other principals governed the human procession rather than those of all living species.  therefore it does not possess the capability of providing the human procession with the basic ideals it needs for its continuance & existential evolution.  christianity is therefore merely a literal & philosophical hypothesis such as all fictional workings relating to the absolute & invariable betterment of human nature.  it incorporates & utilizes a completely inhumane & existentially crucial practice in absolute opposition to nature's natural procession of creation, destruction, & renewal, as it disbands the sacred force of destruction.  invariably concluding in the inevitable destruction of mankind, & possibly the planet itself, which otherwise, ceaselessly would survive, evolve, & adapt.  I acknowledge Jesus neither as the Son of God or as a religious martyr.  he is merely such as christianity, the invariable reflection of other men's wishes that someone should have existed in the above mentioned form, as a role model for generations to come.  he is the fictional & partially genuine documentation of other philosophers' wishes for a man capable of changing their current cultural, religious, & sociological situation.  should not the bible be observed with an equal measure of skepticism & disbelief such as all other fictional & historical documentations currently are & formerly have been?  I rather observe the new testament as simply a fictional documentation seeking to pass on the glorified myths of a truly less significant character of those times.  perhaps a rebel wishing to overthrow the romans, or perhaps a less important but cherished leader in an actually existing coven at that specific time, but not such as the alleged holy figure he has come to represent.  no records or documentations have up until today been found from that specific time except the new testament itself, that points to the existence of a man by the name of Jesus of Nazarene.  no approved scriptures, besides the holy scripture of the appointed faith itself, acknowledges either his birth or his crucifixion.  & up until the point a documentation does appear, I see no reason not to question & distrust the existence of the so called Jesus Christ as well as the over all truth & fidelity of these specific documents.  in conclusion, christianity in its current form is partially declining.  people are evidently loosing interest in practices related to its faith, such as the communion, praying, not cursing, saying grace, etc. etc.  but regardless of this obvious change in behavior people are still supportive of the christian church as a means of tradition & fear.  people are evidently still getting married in church, having their children baptized in church, & finally having their funeral services handled by the church, so saying that the church is without impact is a naive observation.  the christian church is invariably & partially loosing its grip on mankind, but the christian faith still has its measure of influence.  so to say that christianity will decline without effort & to believe that the initiated self-decline will pursue naturally without acknowledging the current situation is to deceive oneself.  equally ignorant would be to believe that cancer would disappear without treatment as long as you do not acknowledge it....

QRD – do you still have day jobs?  do you suspect your music will eventually support you?

OE – on behalf of maintaining a regular income, enabling us to pursue our aesthetic workings, we uphold jobs on the side of Ordo Equilibrio.  but hopefully this situation may change with time, as the interest in our workings increases steadily.

QRD – what bands are particularly influential or inspiring to you &/or what are some of your current favorites?  have you begun to see any of your idols as peers?

OE – I personally appreciate the aesthetics & sound of various industrial bands, such as Coil & NON to mention but a few, but I would not say that I maintain idols.  & as time has past, certain bands that I do appreciate & respect have as you say become our friends & equals.  a current favorite of mine is the latest working of our dear friend Eric Konofal of Les Joyaux de la Princesse, Die Weisse Rose.

QRD – what's your favorite Swans song?

OE – "Money is Flesh" off Holy Money.  but there are a handful of good songs from that same record, along with material off Greed & Children of God.

QRD – why do you choose to sing in english?

OE – as english is an internationally adequate language, it serves us better than for example swedish which would have limited the instrumental & aesthetic capability of our lyrics.  would you for instance have acquired the same extent of interest pertaining to Ordo Equilibrio & our workings, if our lyrics would have been written & sung in swedish rather than english?  I personally do not believe so & therefore english serves our purposes much better.

QRD – do you feel like a part of the swedish underground music scene?

OE – I guess we are, but do I feel a part of it? no, not really.

QRD – do you have any side projects & are there any bands you were in before Ordo Equilibrio?

OE – there are no projects on the side of OE at the present.  I feel satisfied with the current aesthetic progress of Ordo Equilibrio, & I experience no need for a counterpart project to canalize any eventual remains of my creativity.  prior to Ordo Equilibrio I was engaged within the death ambient duo Archon Satani together with Mikael (a.k.a. Inanna) Stavöstrand.  a collaboration which lasted over a period of three years up until May 1993 when I decided to resolve my participation as the result of several discrepancies regarding the formation & its continuing progress.

QRD – anything else coming up soon for Ordo Equilibrio?

OE – we are currently engaged in the creation of our forthcoming third full-length, Conquest, Love & Self-Perseverance, which is scheduled for release on either Walpurgisnacht or the summer solstice 1998, with a complimentary release on the winter solstice the same year.  we are also hoping to accomplish a limited 10" collaboration release together with the french band Les Joyaux de la Princesse.  but as the negotiations still are waiting to be resumed, I have no further information regarding this upcoming activity.

QRD – would you like to do any work on film soundtracks?

OE – maybe someday, but even though I currently feel no evident desire to create music for the application of a film, I do relish the idea of creating a film established on the aesthetic expositions of our musical & lyrical workings.

QRD – what's your favorite monster?  what do you think of zombies?

OE – man is my favorite monster.  there is no monster as perverse & deranged & truly in need of destruction.  zombies may be found everywhere, just take a look around.  I prefer vampires.  drinking blood & killing men for the sake of survival, embracing the night & apprehending the day, living forever.  sounds delightful, tempting & perfectly reasonable to me.

QRD – at what age or point in life do you think someone becomes old?

OE – when the infatuation of curiosity withers & conformity embarks.